Still life
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Paisaje de Hongos
Dora Franco
Photography - 60 x 80 x 0.3 cm Photography - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.1 inch
$1,750
SAINT TROPEZ, LE SUD A MA FENETRE
Sophie Petetin
Painting - 60 x 70 x 2.5 cm Painting - 23.6 x 27.6 x 1 inch
$1,364
Soviet Phone
Alexander (Sandro) Antadze
Painting - 50 x 60 x 3 cm Painting - 19.7 x 23.6 x 1.2 inch
$1,819
Green Phone
Alexander (Sandro) Antadze
Painting - 50 x 70 x 3 cm Painting - 19.7 x 27.6 x 1.2 inch
$2,274
Taylor Swift's "House of Bacchus" ("La Cave de Bacchus")
Christian Jodin
Painting - 60 x 120 x 1 cm Painting - 23.6 x 47.2 x 0.4 inch
$909
Coliflores y brócoli
Dora Franco
Photography - 60 x 80 x 0.3 cm Photography - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.1 inch
$1,750
Télévision et branches mortes
Xiaoping Liu
Painting - 60 x 60 x 1 cm Painting - 23.6 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch
$3,751
Abstract Elene n°427
Harry James Moody
Painting - 152.4 x 121.9 x 5.1 cm Painting - 60 x 48 x 2 inch
$11,500
Le Bar Fer à Cheval
Carlo Maiolini
Painting - 80 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
$1,762
Les portes de la perception
Giacomo
Painting - 120 x 120 x 2.6 cm Painting - 47.2 x 47.2 x 1 inch
$1,705
Anémones aux rayures bleues
Daniel Couthures
Painting - 40 x 40 x 1.5 cm Painting - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0.6 inch
$1,137
Mrs Beeton's Household Guide
Adele Moreau
Sculpture - 44 x 39 x 8 cm Sculpture - 17.3 x 15.4 x 3.1 inch
$868
Still life with smoked fish
Igor Sventitski
Painting - 40.3 x 40.3 x 2.5 cm Painting - 15.9 x 15.9 x 1 inch
$1,364
Piaf Beige à picots or
Valerie Marty
Sculpture - 17 x 12 x 12 cm Sculpture - 6.7 x 4.7 x 4.7 inch
$455
Still life with pomegranates and pitcher
Tamar Nazaryan
Painting - 50 x 70 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch
$750 $638
A Parrot's Sour Treat: Lemons and Limes
Grace Diehl
Painting - 27.9 x 35.6 x 1 cm Painting - 11 x 14 x 0.4 inch
$1,026
A Sour and Bitter Mix
Grace Diehl
Painting - 27.9 x 35.6 x 1.8 cm Painting - 11 x 14 x 0.7 inch
$1,026
Buffalo in the Sunshine: A Western Still Life
Grace Diehl
Painting - 50.8 x 40.6 x 1.8 cm Painting - 20 x 16 x 0.7 inch
$1,845
Skybound: A Garden Avian
Grace Diehl
Painting - 35.6 x 27.9 x 1.8 cm Painting - 14 x 11 x 0.7 inch
$1,026
The Great Animal Cookie Escape
Grace Diehl
Painting - 27.9 x 35.6 x 1.8 cm Painting - 11 x 14 x 0.7 inch
$1,026
Chirping Connections
Grace Diehl
Painting - 40.6 x 50.8 x 1.8 cm Painting - 16 x 20 x 0.7 inch
$1,845
The picture is ready to hang on the wall.
Elena Podmarkova
Painting - 50.8 x 40.6 x 2 cm Painting - 20 x 16 x 0.8 inch
$990
Flowers with gold rays
Elena Podmarkova
Painting - 61 x 91.4 x 2 cm Painting - 24 x 36 x 0.8 inch
$2,040
Pretty Littered Walkway
Jess Hon
Photography - 41 x 31 x 0.1 cm Photography - 16.1 x 12.2 x 0 inch
$1,250
Still life with Watermelon
Valeria Radzievska
Painting - 61 x 50.8 x 2 cm Painting - 24 x 20 x 0.8 inch
$1,400
Mulled wine with asters
Valeria Radzievska
Painting - 61 x 50.8 x 2 cm Painting - 24 x 20 x 0.8 inch
$1,500
G-Love
Nino Eliashvili
Fine Art Drawings - 50 x 52.5 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 19.7 x 20.7 x 0 inch
$1,933
Séries Nature Morte No.4
Qing-Chun Diao
Painting - 80 x 60 x 4 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 1.6 inch
$1,478
Come il Santo (Like the Saint)
Tommaso Cascella
Painting - 60 x 60 x 8 cm Painting - 23.6 x 23.6 x 3.1 inch
$7,389
Monsieur le Professeur est amoureux
Michel Philippon
Painting - 80 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,080
Magnetic Radiation 14 (Large)
Seb Janiak
Photography - 160 x 160 cm Photography - 63 x 63 inch
$8,009
Wild flower bouquet
Gordon Hopkins
Painting - 100 x 100 x 3.5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.4 inch
$5,115
Portrait of osculating fan while on treadmill
John Kilduff
Painting - 76.2 x 61 x 2 cm Painting - 30 x 24 x 0.8 inch
$1,970
Found garbage still life
John Kilduff
Painting - 91.4 x 61 x 2 cm Painting - 36 x 24 x 0.8 inch
$1,670
January Afternoon Light
Gayle Fitzpatrick
Painting - 61 x 50.8 x 2 cm Painting - 24 x 20 x 0.8 inch
$915
Fleurs du desert
Christiane Papé
Painting - 101.6 x 101.6 x 2 cm Painting - 40 x 40 x 0.8 inch
$1,900
Orchid meditation
Carol Steinberg
Painting - 50.8 x 40.6 x 0.3 cm Painting - 20 x 16 x 0.1 inch
$1,310
Still life
Although at its heart a classic subject, the still life was the preferred approach of Cézanne, the artist who paved the way for art to enter its most modern phase. From Cubism to Hyperrealism via Pop art, sculpture, and photography, almost all art forms have been at some point shown that it is still possible to breathe new life into this age old theme.
Be it completely de-structured, funny, classic, or minimalist, the contemporary still life is far from old fashioned, despite the fact that it boasts a long, celebrated history.
Let's take a closer look at this theme that recurs so often across art history… even in antiquity, Pliny had already written about a painter called Piraikos, known for his paintings of 'provisions for cooking', and the optical illusions of Zeuxis, from which it was said that birds would try to pick off the raisins because they looked so real. The conventional still life as we know it today, however, dates back to the 17th century, where it developed in Holland under strict aesthetic codes.
Generally, oils on canvas were the preferred method for representing inanimate objects of varying types (lots of fruit, fish, game…) and flowers. The colours were muted, the background a monochromic black, the atmosphere heavy, and the light at a steep diagonal angle. There were few elements but they were precisely arranged and loaded with religious symbolism.
Even though still life was never considered a genre in its own right, almost all of the great masters have tried their hand at it at some point or other. Across the 19th century, all the art movements went through a still life phase: romanticism, impressionism, symbolism… and under the brushes of Degas, Cézanne, Monet, etc., still life evolved.
Little by little, artists added colours, erased the biblical references and replaced them with everyday objects in ever greater numbers: cooking utensils, cups of coffee, gas lamps, musical instruments…
In the 20th century, modern art once more dusted off this 'boring' subject, and began to play with its strict codes. From cubism to pop art to surrealism, all of the artistic movements made their mark on still life. Bit by bit, they took it to pieces and rebuilt it, moving ever closer to the contemporary still life, which has little to do with the original genre except for its central theme.
After his separation from Olga Khokhlova in 1936, Pablo Picasso painted 'Still Life Under a Lamp' whose plastic elements suggested themes that would later be developed in his famous 'Guernica' the following year. Pale lamplight dominates the triangular composition in the centre of the canvas and the arms of the antique sculpture appear to be on the verge of falling off the table. Although the piece altogether seems to move away from the classic still life, it maintains the traditional heavy atmosphere.
In 1956 the Catalan surrealist painter Salvador Dali painted 'Living Still Life' in his typical humorous style. The canvas – divided in two to represent night and day – shows a table on a balcony. The elements (wine, water, a pear, a knife…) are in motion, or rather levitating, as though someone has just struck the tabletop.
Artsper invites you to explore a range of contemporary still life pieces that are both traditional and surprising in our unique selection. Discover the work of Syvie Andlauer Baruch, Gonzalo Sicre, Zbigniew Wozniak, and many more…